Sumida H, et al. - Experts conducted a retrospective study to ascertain predictive factors for the effectiveness of i.v. cyclophosphamide (IVCY) at the time of before and during the treatment for interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis. Findings suggested the probable utility of interstitial lung disease (ILD) severity/activity before treatment and variability of serum KL-6 and SP-D levels during treatment to predict therapeutic effects of IVCY on SSc-ILD. They noted a significant reduction of pretreatment percent predicted diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco) in poor responders (PR) vs good responders (GR). Also, compared to GR, serum parameters such as Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6), surfactant protein D (SP-D) and C-reactive protein were significantly higher in PR.